Should Capital Punishment Be Introduced Again?

In a country famous for the high rate of rape and murder, I believe that new measures against the crimes of rape and murder need to be debated, and stricter measures need to be put in place. Many people believe that criminals no longer fear the consequences of committing such crimes. Castration of rapists was debated briefly in Parliament recently and yet I am sure that many people including myself would gladly welcome such a measure. However, the silence of the public caused that debate to fade away into nothingness.

In South Africa a women is raped every 36 seconds and a person is murdered every hour. We need to ask ourselves, why has society not protested against this en masse? Why are our voices silent on the two of the most prevalent issues in South Africa? It horrifies me that a rapist can only be put in jail if a woman can prove rape via DNA evidence, even if the women says who the man is that tried to murder her.

It was not enough when Anene Booysen was on her deathbed she said named the perpetrator as "Zwai". Davids, known as Zwai was released free of charge because of "lack of evidence". Why would a young woman lie about the perpetrator on her deathbed, when she was dying from the psychical wounds of abuse? Are minimal consequences and complicated procedures truly serving justice for the victims of these heinous crimes?

How can we expect the rate of rape and murder be reduced and ideally eliminated, if the consequences of such crimes offer a better lifestyle than being on the street? I understand that prison is not a bed of roses, but many criminals would gladly take the daily hot meal, TV, shower and bed that comes with prison, than starve themselves to death digging through the trash bins of South Africa's streets. The consequences of rape and murder do not impose enough fear for a criminal to refrain from committing such crimes.

Whenever the capital punishment question comes up there is the query about morality, with people immediately citing that the government has no right to take a life, and that the free will of people should not be imposed upon. Yet logically, that argument makes no sense because if capital punishment were in place, a person would still be exercising their free will as they still have the choice of whether to commit the crime or not.

So if they choose to commit a crime and they know of the consequences, then they have made the choice to die. The law did not dictate the choice they made; in that case the law is giving the choice. We live in a society where communities are forced to embark upon mob justice, because they know that they will bring justice faster than the law itself.

It's important that there is fair and equal justice for all people. It is grossly unfair that Anene Booysen's trial only took a few weeks, whereas Oscar Pistorious has been granted months and months for the case. Why does someone have to be rich or famous, for the crime to be national interest and therefore granted fair time for thorough evaluation?

Is the protection of all women and children not of national interest itself? Or have we become so consumed by celebrity culture that the majority of people from communities are not as important? Is that the message we are sending out, by our silence as society about the issue of rape and murder?

So the question remains, what will be done to reduce the rate of rape and murder? Is the government going to up its game and impose stricter punishments that will deter criminals from committing the crimes in the first place? What will it take for society to become more active in reporting and speaking out against such crimes?

The South African Government is forced to listen when the people of South Africa speak collectively and yet instead of using our voices to speak and protest against the atrocities of rape and murder, civil society chooses to march and protest about a big property called Nkandla. Have we not misplaced our priorities?

I put it to you that if you don't stand for something, you stand for nothing, and to remain silent in the face of atrocity, is to become an accomplice. How long will we allow the high rate of rape and murder to continue?

When a person stays silent and does not speak for what is right, they are simply aiding the perpetrator of the crime, by being one less person to oppose them and one less person to stand up for justice. When are we going to put the debate of stricter consequences for rape and murder on the forefront of our agenda, and when are we going to start speaking out against these real issues en masse?

- Chelsea Lotz

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